The U.S. installed more than 13 gigawatts of new wind energy capacity in 2012, nearly doubling the amount of wind power installations added in 2011 and pushing the total capacity connected to the grid nationally to 60 gigawatts, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). READ MORE

In a new timelapse map, the U.S. Department of Energy illustrates the rapid increase in wind energy projects nationwide, particularly in the last decade. While there were only 48 wind farms in the U.S. in 1992 (all in California), with enough capacity to provide electricity to 317,000 homes, 815 wind projects now exist in the U.S. — enough to power 15 million homes. View the timelapse (U.S. Department of Energy)

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Photographer Robert Wintner documents the exquisite beauty and biodiversity of Cuba’s coral reefs, which are largely intact thanks to stifled coastal development in the communist nation. View the gallery.

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The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video, chronicles a Chinese village’s fight against a polluting chemical plant. It was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
Watch the video.